Revolver cylinder retaining means

ABSTRACT

A revolver having a cylinder that is rotatably mounted on the cylinder pivot shaft of the cylinder crane is provided with means for retaining the cylinder on the cylinder pivot shaft when the cylinder and cylinder crane are swung outwardly to their open position. The cylinder retaining means comprises a laterally removable element, advantageously a ball, disposed partly in a hole formed in the annular wall of the cylinder pivot shaft and partly in an annular groove formed in the interior surface of the longitudinal center bore of the revolver.

United States Patent Sefried, II

1 1 Aug. 22, 1972 [54] REVOLVER CYLINDER RETAINING MEANS [72] Inventor: Harry H. Sefried, II, New Haven,

Conn.

[73] Assignee: Ruger Sturm & Co., Inc., Southport,

Conn.

[22] Filed: June 12, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 45,663

[52] US. Cl ..42/62, 42/59 51] Int. Cl. ..F4lc 1/00 [58] Field of Search ..42/62, 59

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 702,735 6/1902 Kolb et a1. ..42/62 3,177,602 4/1965 Geber ..42/62 689,260 12/1901 Wesson ..42/62 975,685 11/1910 Fyrberg ..42/62 Primary ExaminerBenjamin A. Borchelt Assistant Examiner-C. T. Jordan A!t0rneyPennie, Edmonds, Morton, Taylor and Adams 5 7] ABSTRACT 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 25 45 a i 25 Q1 28 f 17 a 20 y 9 I ma wn N1}:

1.5 H U I H I 4 as 3 45 I0 27 26 5 19 37 PATENTEDMIBZZ I912 3.685; 193

SHEET 1 0F 2 FIG. 1

INVENTOR. HARRY H. SEFRIEDII ATTORNEYS REVOLVER CYLINDER RETAINING MEANS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of Invention This invention relates to revolvers, and in particular to the means for retaining the cylinder of a revolver on the cylinder pivot shaft of the cylinder crane.

2. Prior Art A conventional revolver comprises, broadly, a revolver frame, a barrel, a firing mechanism including the hammer and trigger, a cylinder, a cylinder crane on which the cylinder is rotatably mounted and which itself is pivotally mounted on the revolver frame, crane latch means for releasably securing the cylinder and cylinder crane in their closed or firing position, and cylinder retaining means for retaining the cylinder on the cylinder pivot shaft of the crane when the cylinder and cylinder crane are swung sideways to their open position.

The cylinder retaining means usually comprises a lug or stop that projects laterally sideways from the side of the revolver frame. This lug is usually integrally fonned with the side wall of the frame, and as a result the manufacturing and finishing operations of the frame are both complicated and expensive. I have now devised a new type of cylinder retaining means which is disposed entirely within the longitudinal center bore of the cylinder and the wall of the adjacent pivot shaft, thereby eliminating the projecting lug formerly employed for this purpose. As a result the manufacturing and finishing of the frame is greatly simplified and the finished revolver presents a smooth and clean appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The revolver to which the present invention relates includes, among other parts, a revolver frame, a cylinder having a longitudinal center bore, a cylinder crane having a cylinder pivot shaft on which the cylinder is rotatably mounted and a crane pivot shaft by means of which the cylinder crane is pivotally secured to the frame, ejector means centrally mounted on the rear of the cylinder, and an ejector rod connected to the said ejector means and extending forwardly through a longitudinally bore formed in the cylinder pivot shaft of the crane. The cylinder retaining means of the invention is disposed within the longitudinal center bore of the cylinder and the wall of the adjacent cylinder pivot shaft, the retaining means mechanically interlocking the cylinder and the cylinder pivot shaft together to prevent longitudinal movement of the cylinder on the shaft while permitting free rotation of the cylinder thereon. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the cylinder retaining means comprises at least one ball disposed partly in a cylindrical ballreceiving hole formed in the annular side wall of the cylinder pivot shaft and partly in an annular ball-receiving groove formed in the interior surface of the longitudinal center bore of the cylinder. The diameter of the ball is greater than the thickness of the annular side wall of the cylinder pivot shaft so that, when the innermost point on the spherical surface of the ball contacts the outer cylindrical surface of the ejector rod that extends through the longitudinal bore of the cylinder pivot shaft, the outermost portion of the ball is held in place in the annular ball-receiving groove of the When the ejector rod is unscrewed and removed from the longitudinal bore formed in the cylinder pivot shaft, the cylinder-retaining ball or balls move radially inwardly and thus out of engagement with the annular ball-receiving groove of the cylinder thereby permitting the cylinder to be removed from the cylinder pivot shaft.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be better understood from the following description thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a left side elevation of the revolver, with. unessential parts omitted:

FIG. 2 is a sectional view along line 22'of FIG. 1, illustrating the revolver cylinder assembly in firing position,

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but with the cylinder and crane shaft removed from the revolver frame, and other components partially disassembled; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view along line 44 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, the revolver embodying the invention comprises, in its major components, a frame 1, a barrel 2, a cylinder 3, a cylinder crane 4, a hammer 5, a trigger 6 and a trigger guard 7. The cylinder 3 is formed with a longitudinal central bore 8. The cylinder crane 4 is pivotally secured to the frame 1 by means of the crane pivot shaft 9 (shown in outline in FIG. 1), and it is formed with a rearwardly extending cylinder pivot shaft 10 on which the cylinder 3 is rotatably mounted and locked in place in the manner hereinafter more fully described. An ejector rod 12 extends through a longitudinal bore 13 formed in the crane 4 and the cylinder pivot shaft 10, the rearward end of the ejector rod being connected to the ejector means 14 and the forward end of the ejector rod normally being received in the ejector rod housing 15 that is integrally formed on the underside of the barrel 2.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the cylinder and ejector means assembly comprises the aforementioned cylinder 3 that is rotatably mounted on the cylinder pivot shaft 10 of the crane 4, the ejector rod 12 that extends through the longitudinal bore 13 of the crane and cylinder pivot shaft, the ejector means 14, an ejector spring 17, a crane latch plunger 19, a latch plunger spring 20, a latch push rod 21 that extends from the latch plunger 19 through a central bore 22 of the ejector rod 12 to the forward end thereof, and cylinder retaining balls 23. The rearward end of the ejector rod 12 is formed with external threads which engage the internal threads of the forwardly extending sleeve portion 25 of the ejector means 14. The ejector rod 12 is movable or slidable longitudinally within the bore 13 of the crane 4, the pressure of the ejector spring 17 urging the ejector rod 12 and the ejector means 14 secured thereto forwardly toward their forward limit of travel as shown in FIG. 2. The forward end of the latch plunger 19 is formed with a flange 26 that abuts against a similar flange 27 secured to the rearward end of the push rod 21. The latch plunger 19 is longitudinally movable with respect to the ejector means 14 and the push rod 21 is longitudinally movable within the bore 22 of the ejector rod 12, the latch plunger spring 20 pressing the push rod 21 and latch plunger 19 rearwardly toward their rearward limit of travel as shown in FIG. 2.

When the cylinder 3 is in its closed or firing position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cylinder 3 and crane 4 are held in this position by the spring-pressed crane latch plunger 19 which is received in the latch opening 28 formed in the frame 1 and by the spring-pressed detent 29 that is received in the tapered recess 30 formed in the forward end of the ejector rod 12. The springpressed detent 29 is disposed in a longitudinal opening 31 formed in the ejector rod housing 15, and the latch opening 28 if formed in the portion of the frame 1 that is disposed directly to the rear of the cylinder 3 and in longitudinal alignment with the detent 29.

The cylinder and cylinder crane assembly is designed to be swung or pivoted sideways about the pivot shaft 9 from its normally closed or firing position (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) to its open position (not shown) for loading and unloading of the cartridge chambers 33 of the cylinder 3. To release the cylinder crane assembly from its normally closed position, the crane latch plunger 19 must be moved out of engagement with the latch opening 28 and the detent 29 must be moved out of engagement with the recess 30. In the embodiment shown in the drawing a crane latch release lever 35 is pivotally mounted on a vertically disposed pivot pin 36 mounted on the frame 1 and positioned so that the lever 35 rotates in the horizontal plane which coincides with the longitudinal axis of the crane latch plunger 19 and the cylinder 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the crane latch release lever 35 is advantageously an angular member having an external leg 37 formed with a serrated thumb contacting surface and having an internal leg 38 that is provided with a forwardly extending plunger contacting lug 39 that bears against the rearward end of the crane latch plunger 19. When the lever 35 is rotated about the pivot pin 36 as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2, the lug 39 presses the crane latch plunger 19 forwardly out of engagement with the latch opening 28 and the push rod 21 presses the detent 29 forwardly out of engagement with the recess 30, thereby permitting the cylinder and crane assembly to be swung outwardly to its open position.

When the cylinder and crane assembly is in its open position the cylinder 3 would be free to slide rearwardly off of the cylinder pivot shaft unless some means are provided to prevent this from happening. In conventional revolver construction, the frame 1 is provided with a lug or stop that projects laterally from the side of the frame to prevent the cylinder from sliding rearwardly when in its open position. In accordance with the present invention the aforementioned laterally projecting lug is eliminated, the cylinder 3 being retained on the cylinder pivot shaft 10 by cylinder retaining means which are located within the longitudinal center bore 8 of the cylinder 3 and the adjacent annular wall of the cylinder pivot shaft 10. More particularly, the cylinder retaining means comprises at least one laterally movable element disposed partly in a hole formed in the circular side wall of the cylinder pivot shaft 10 and partly in an annular groove formed in the interior surface of the longitudinal center bore of the cylinder 3.

In the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings the cylinder retaining means comprises the cylinderretaining balls 23 disposed in the holes 41 formed in the annular wall of the cylinder pivot shaft 10. The number of cylinder retaining balls 23 employed in the practice of the invention may vary from one to the maximum that can be accommodated in the space available, although I presently prefer to employ two retaining balls 23 positioned diametrically opposite each other as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. Each retaining ball 23 is received in a cylindrical hole 41 bored in the annular side wall of the cylinder pivot shaft 10. The longitudinal axis of the hole 41 is disposed essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder pivot shaft 10, and preferably is disposed at a slight rearward angle (say between 5-20) with respect to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shaft 10, as indicated in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawing. The diameter of each ball 23 is slightly greater than the wall thickness of the annular cylinder pivot shaft 10 so that the balls 23 either extend laterally outwardly beyond the outer surface of the shaft 10 as shown in FIG. 2 or extend laterally inwardly beyond the interior surface of the shaft 10 as shown in FIG. 3. The balls are retained in their respective holes 41 by the lip 42 at the inner periphery of the hole 41 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and by the swaged lips 43 at the outer periphery of each hole 41. The interior surface of the center bore 8 of the cylinder 3 is formed with an annular groove 45 adapted to receive the balls 23 when the cylinder 3 is mounted on the cylinder pivot shaft 10 and the ejector rod 12 is positioned in the bore 13 of the shaft 10 as shown in FIGS. 2. When assembled as shown, each cylinderretaining ball 23 is disposed partly in its respective ballreceiving hole 41 formed in the cylinder pivot shaft 10 and partly in the ball-receiving groove 45 of the cylinder 3, thereby locking the cylinder in place on the shaft. If It it is desired to remove cylinder 3 from the cylinder pivot shaft 10 for cleaning or repair, the cylinder and crane assembly is first disengaged from its normally closed position by depressing the crane latch lever 35 as previously described. When the cylinder and crane assembly is in its open position the ejector rod 12 is unscrewed from its threaded connection with ejector means 14 and is moved forwardly as indicated by the lefthand arrow in FIG. 3. This permits the retaining balls 23 to move radially inwardly toward the iongitudinal central axis of the assembly and hence out of engagement with the annular groove 45 formed in the cylinder 3. The cylinder 3 can then be moved rearwardly off of the cylinder pivot shaft 10 as indicated by the righthand arrows in FIG. 3 of the drawing. When the cylinder 3 is removed from the shaft 10 the remaining assembly of rods, springs and plungers can be completely disassembled for cleaning or replacement as required.

To reassemble the cylinder and crane assembly the latch plunger spring 20 is mounted on the push rod 21, the push rod 21 is inserted in the bore 22 of the ejector rod 12 and the ejector spring 17 is inserted in the cylinder pivot shaft 10. The crane latch plunger 19, the ejector means 14 and the cylinder 3 are assembled together as shown in FIG. 3, and this assembly is mounted on the cylinder pivot shaft as shown in FIG. 2. The ejector rod 12 is then inserted into the bore 13 of the crane 4 and is screwed into the sleeve portion 25 of the ejector means 14. This causes the balls 23 to be forced radially outwardly into the annular groove 45 of the cylinder 3, thereby locking the cylinder 3 in place on the cylinder pivot shaft 10.

I claim 1. In a revolver that includes a revolver frame, a cylinder having a longitudinal center bore, a cylinder crane having a cylinder pivot shaft on which the cylinder is rotatably mounted and a crane pivot shaft by means of which the cylinder crane is pivotally secured to the frame, ejector means centrally mounted on the rear of the cylinder, an ejector rod connected to said ejector means and extending forwardly through a longitudinal bore formed in the cylinder pivot shaft of the crane, and cylinder retaining means disposed within the longitudinal center bore of the cylinder and mechanically interlocking said-cylinder and said cylinder pivot shaft to prevent longitudinal movement of said cylinder on said shaft while permitting free rotation of the cylinder thereon the improvement in which the cylinder retaining means comprises at least one opening formed in the annular wall of the cylinder pivot shaft, said opening communicating with the longitudinal bore of said cylinder pivot shaft and with a recess formed in the inner surface of the center bore of the cylinder, and radially movable retaining means disposed in the opening formed in the annular wall of the cylinder pivot shaft, said retaining means movably engaging the recess formed in the inner surface of the center bore of the cylinder and being held in engagement therewith by the outer surface of the ejector rod extending through the longitudinal bore of the cylinder pivot shaft.

2. The revolver according to claim 1 in which the cylinder retaining means comprises at least one ball disposed partly in a cylindrical hole formed in the annular side wall of the cylinder pivot shaft and partly in an annular groove formed in the interior surface of the longitudinal center bore of the cylinder.

3. The revolver according to claim 1 in which the cylinder retaining means comprises at least one ball disposed partly in a cylindrical ball-receiving hole formed in the annular side wall of the cylinder pivot shaft and partly in an annular ball-receiving groove formed in the interior surface of the longitudinal center bore of the cylinder, the diameter of the ball being greater than the thickness of the annular wall of the cylinder pivot shaft, the innermost point on the spherical surface of the bail contacting the outer cylindrical surface of the ejector rod that extends through the longitudinal bore formed in the cylinder pivot shaft, than; lliflffilllr 8813222351 g f dv bf tli cylinder.

4. The revolver according to claim 3 in which the inner periphery and the outer periphery of the cylindrical ball-receiving hole of the cylinder pivot shaft are both provided with ball-retaining lips that retain the ball within the hole.

5. The revolver according to claim 3 in which the axis of the cylindrical ball-receiving hole formed in the annular wall of the cylinder pivot shaft is disposed at a slight rearwardly inclined angle with respect to a plane that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder pivot shaft.

6. The revolver according to claim 3 in which the cylinder retaining means comprises two such balls disposed diametrically opposite each other in the annular wall of the cylinder pivot shaft.

7. The revolver according to claim 3 in which the rearward end of the ejector rod is provided with external threads which engage internal threads formed in a forwardly extending sleeve portion of the ejector means.

*zg g UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE QERTH ICATE OF CRECTEN I Patent No. 3 685 193 Dated August 22 19 72 Inventor(s) mmw n SFFRTPT) TT It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby eorrected as shown below:

On the title page, item 73, "Assignee:

Ruger Sturm, Co: I inc, Seuthport Conn."

should read Assignee; Stur m, Ruger 6 Co. Inc.,

Southporf, Conn.

Signed and sealed this 3rd day of April 19730 (SEAL) Attest: U I I EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERTHGOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 3 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION 3,685,193 August 22,- 1972 Patent No.

Invent0r( nmmv n SPFRTPT) II It is certified that error appears in the above-: Ld entified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby eorrected as ehown below:

On the title page, item 73', "Assignee':

Ruger Sturm, Co. Inc, Seuthpurt Conn." should read Assignee: Sturm, Ruger G CO. Inc.,

Southport, Conn.

Signed and sealed this 3rd dey ef April 1973w (SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.F.LETCHER,JR. ROBERTi GOTTSCHALK" Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. In a revolver that includes a revolver frame, a cylinder having a longitudinal center bore, a cylinder crane having a cylinder pivot shaft on which the cylinder is rotatably mounted and a crane pivot shaft by means of which the cylinder crane is pivotally secured to the frame, ejector means centrally mounted on the rear of the cylinder, an ejector rod connected to said ejector means and extending forwardly through a longitudinal bore formed in the cylinder pivot shaft of the crane, and cylinder retaining means disposed within the longitudinal center bore of the cylinder and mechanically interlocking said cylinder and said cylinder pivot shaft to prevent longitudinal movement of said cylinder on said shaft while permitting free rotation of the cylinder thereon the improvement in which the cylinder retaining means comprises at least one opening formed in the annular wall of the cylinder pivot shaft, said opening communicating with the longitudinal bore of said cylinder pivot shaft and with a recess formed in the inner surface of the center bore of the cylinder, and radially movable retaining means disposed in the opening formed in the annular wall of the cylinder pivot shaft, said retaining means movably engaging the recess formed in the inner surface of the center bore of the cylinder and being held in engagement therewith by the outer surface of the ejector rod extending through the longitudinal bore of the cylinder pivot shaft.
 2. The revolver according to claim 1 in which the cylinder retaining means comprises at least one ball disposed partly in a cylindrical hole formed in the annular side wall of the cylinder pivot shaft and partly in an annular groove formed in the interior surface of the longitudinal center bore of the cylinder.
 3. The revolver according to claim 1 in which the cylinder retaining means comprises at least one ball disposed partly in a cylindrical ball-receiving hole formed in the annular side wall of the cylinder pivot shaft and partly in an annular ball-receiving groove formed in the interior surface of the longitudinal center bore of the cylinder, the diameter of the ball being greater than the thickness of the annular wall of the cylinder pivot shaft, the innermost point on the spherical surface of the ball contacting the outer cylindrical surface of the ejector rod that extends through the longitudinal bore formed in the cylinder pivot shaft, whereby the outermost portion of the ball is held in place in the annular ball-receiving groove of the cylinder.
 4. The revolver according to claim 3 in which the inner periphery and the outer periphery of the cylindrical ball-receiving hole of the cylinder pivot shaft are both provided with ball-retaining lips that retain the ball within the hole.
 5. The revolver according to claim 3 in which the axis of the cylindrical ball-receiving hole formed in the annular wall of the cylinder pivot shaft is disposed at a slight rearwardly inclined angle with respect to a plane that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder pivot shaft.
 6. The revolver according to claim 3 in which the cylinder retaining means comprises two such balls disposed diametrically opposite each other in the annular wall of the cylinder pivot shaft.
 7. The revolver according to claim 3 in which the rearward end of the ejector rod is provided with external threads which engage internal threads formed in a forwardly extending sleeve portion of the ejector means. 